“Parties were the order of the day, only ranking second in importance to the Coronation ceremony itself,” reported the Echo on June 2.

“Groups of neighbours huddled around TV sets early this morning, anxious not to miss a moment of the day’s events as the Princess was crowned Queen.”

Also making headlines this year was the opening of Sunderland’s new-look Binns – a five-storey shop which took three years to build and “towered” over Fawcett Street.

The two original Binns stores had been destroyed by Nazi bombers on April 10, 1941, but from the ruins of the blitz came a new shop to dominate the skyline.

“The emphasis of the store is on women’s wear,” reported the Echo. “The basement will also house women’s shoes, while on the ground floor are dress silks and hosiery.

“Millinery, gowns and coats will be on the first floor and, on the second, will be underwear and a modern women’s and children’s hairdressing salon.”

Other stories of 1953 included the opening of Thorney Close Secondary Modern School – part of a £1million-plus post-war project to transform education in the town.

Two-week holidays were introduced for pitmen in this year too, with Horden – then home to Britain’s biggest pit – reported empty as mining families enjoyed their break. The artist L.S Lowry also won a legion of admirers after making Sunderland his ‘second home’ in 1953 – staying at the Seaburn Hotel and painting river views.

And Hawthorn Combined Mine, near Murton, was opened by the National Coal Board in this year as well, to draw coals from Murton, Eppleton and Elemore pits.

But a significant piece of Sunderland’s architectural heritage was bulldozed in 1953 – 17th-century Thorney Close Hall, which had originally been home to George Storey.

And the year also saw the passing of Sunderland’s own history man, James Watson Corder, who devoted almost his entire life to researching the town’s rich heritage.

“He documented the lives of Sunderland’s 19th-century families, leaving behind a unique legacy of social history for the benefit of future residents,” reported the Echo.

WORLD EVENTS

Jan 7: President Harry S Truman announced the US had developed a hydrogen bomb.

Jan 20: Dwight D Eisenhower succeeded Harry S Truman as US President.

Mar 5: Joseph Stalin died after suffering a stroke on March 1.

Apr 13: Ian Fleming published his first James Bond novel – Casino Royale.

May 9: France agreed to provisional independence of Cambodia.

May 29: Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay first to reach Everest summit.

Jun 18: Egypt declared itself a republic.

Jul 5: The European Economic Community held its first assembly.

Jul 27: The Korean War ended with the Lorean Armstice Agreement.

Sep 12: US senator John F. Kennedy married Jacqueline Lee Bouvier.

Sep 25: First German prisoners of war returned from Soviet Union to West Germany.